UNA MIRADA AL DERECHO LABORAL – LABOR LAW EN ESTADOS UNIDOS

The involvement of the public, both direct users and non-users, in the designation and management of an MPA is very important. Early involvement of these persons will contribute significantly to efforts at education, conflict resolution and the establishment of the MPA, and monitoring of the area. The population must get a chance to know of the impacts on their lives, the benefits to be derived and any changes they might have to make to accommodate the establishment of the MPA.

Countries such as Canada and Australia, which have been at the forefront in the use of MPAs as a method of conservation and protection, have seen the benefits of public participation in those efforts. There are sound reasons for this. The main argument for a participatory approach to management efforts for conservation and protection of coastal and marine areas is that it is an integral part of resource development. Proper resource development needs reliable information, discussion among all affected parties, and a legitimate process for arriving at the final decisions. It is to be further noted that those who will be most affected tend to have the widest and best knowledge of the state of the resource and its users. Users have valuable information that is very useful to augment scientific data (Dahl C 1997).

Ellsworth et al, addressing the same point of public participation, state that public involvement runs the gamut from giving of public information, through various levels of public comment, consultation and advise, all the way to joint planning. This last, joint planning, offers the best method of public involvement, as it is by nature open and transparent. This gives legitimacy to the process. It reduces conflicts and is

educational. Joint planning offers the opportunity for early development of trust among stakeholders.

There are direct benefits to be derived from the participatory approach and the use of co-management for an area needing protection. Ellsworth et al see the following advantages of such an approach:

• creation of an appropriate, representative organisation;

• achieving common understanding of the environmental, social and economic visions and aims;

• help in assessment of the state of the environment, data gathering and the factors impacting the environment;

• identification of the tasks that may be carried out to rectify or mitigate environmental degradation;

• scheduling of tasks in a realistic, achievable way.

The authors see the results of co-management as the enhancement of the community’s ability to sustain and diversify its livelihood by looking at alternative activities such as ecotourism and sports fishing. The benefits of conservation of biological and cultural diversity will be enhanced. There will be beneficial effects such as improvement in water quality of beaches and estuaries. Major social benefits will be an informed public, better able to take charge of their environment; achieving continuous efforts at restoration and sustainable development based on common understanding and with sound knowledge; and finally, popularisation of science and a belief in government generated data.

Achieving effective public participation will not always be easy, as some cultures may not have strong traditions for this. There may also be adversarial tensions between different users on one hand, and users and the government on the other. There are some groups that simply resist efforts that suggest to them imposition of any form of control. Such a group in Jamaica is fishermen. This will be the largest group likely to be affected by the creation of MPAs in that country and every effort has to be made to ensure their active involvement. Large parts of this effort have to be to show them the long-term benefits to themselves from the establishment of MPAs, as people tend to respond positively if they can see their personal gain. Another group is the people involved in the tourism industry who may face restrictions on areas

traditionally open to their use. The same level of involvement as for fishermen should be undertaken.

Luttinger, using his experience in the establishment of a marine protected area in the Bay Islands of Honduras, an area socio-economically similar to parts of Jamaica, noted some key factors that spurred the community to support the establishment of the MPA. These were:

• the local economy was becoming more dependent on the resources of the area;

• a recognition of the link between economic and social issues, and the health of the marine ecosystem;

• recognition that the methods of exploitation of marine resources were unsustainable and therefore had to be changed;

• recognition of the advantages of an MPA, through education;

• trust in those local persons who spearheaded the idea as they were also being affected economically;

• development of a policy of finding alternative sources of income for those displaced or adversely affected by the MPA;

• limiting the size of the area to that which was essential to achieve the aims of the MPA.

Luttinger saw the benefits of public participation and co-management of the MPA as providing a basis for continuous education of the stakeholders on the importance of monitoring the MPA. He saw another benefit of co-management as a means of getting a wide cross section of persons contributing financial and other resources to the management efforts. This reduced dependency on any single source of funding and also ensured greater desire and interest in its success by the stakeholders.

6.3Zoning

An MPA may be designated for a single purpose and have one set of control or rules applying uniformly throughout the area. This is most often the case in small areas that are easily managed and that have little disruptive effects on surrounding activities. Large multiple-use MPAs, due to the management complexities and the possible disruptive effects they may have on traditional users, will require a system of

delineation into different zones with different rules, depending on the purposes of the areas and the permissible activities within those areas.

The use of zones for allowing different uses of an area is one of the management tools used in management of MPAs. In Jamaica, there are many areas needing protection, where a single type of protective zone can be used due to the environmental condition and economic use to which the area is put. There are other areas however, where multiple use zones may be better to achieve the best results for conservation and protection, having regard to the socio-economic conditions of the country.

The five most broadly recognised zones used in coastal and marine management are general use, sustainable use, seasonal preserve, species preserves and marine park (Dahl 1997). The protective zones among this group, i.e. sustainable use, seasonal preserve, species preserve and marine park broadly correspond to the ecological reserves/marine conservation areas, wildlife management area and marine park used in Table 5.1 (Criteria for Designation of MPA).

The types of management measures that may be instituted in the various zones include permit procedures, water and environmental quality monitoring, fisheries monitoring, facilities siting, emergency planning, land use management and hazardous substances management (Dahl 1997). These management measures are largely dependent on the type of use to which the areas were traditionally used, the type of allowable activities once management measures are in place, and the activities in surrounding areas that may impact on the zone.

The zoning plan to be developed must take into account and plan for prescribed and proscribed activities. The allowable activities within zones should be specified, such as navigation, anchoring, diving and fishing for example. Periods of fishery closure can also be specified for areas or zones at critical times in the life cycle of species. Limits on the maximum size of fish and, maximum harvest for a period, and the regulation of equipment used, can be specified by zones. Access to zones can be controlled by measures such as permits and limitations of participants (Kelleher et al 1991).

Kelleher et al outlined the main reason for using multiple use zones in some types of situations. They recommend using large multiple use MPAs with varying types of protective systems or methods. These areas can be divided for research, full protection as reserves, non-extractive uses, recreation and use for the subsistence of

the population. Experience has shown that small MPAs in conjunction with conventional fisheries management frequently lead to over-exploitation and collapse of stocks and eventual degradation of the MPA (Kelleher et al 1991).

Where multiple use zones are necessary to achieve the objectives of an MPA, a zoning plan must be developed. The purposes of this zoning plan are:

• long term conservation and maintenance of the MPA;

• protection of the critical systems such as habitats, ecosystem and the life sustaining ecological processes;

• provide separation of possible conflicting uses;

• provide a basis for protection of natural or cultural aspects, and at the same time allowing for continued sustainable use;

• provide areas for certain specific human activities and at the same time minimising harmful effects on the MPA;

• provide areas in a natural state for use in scientific studies, research and education (Kelleher et al 1991).

The zoning plan should be developed in a systematic way, using the inputs from all interested parties. It is an integral part of the management plan and where one is used, the thoroughness with which it is developed will affect the success of the management plan for the MPA.

The main considerations and stages in the development of a zoning plan are: 1. Gathering information and data on the use of the area, success or failure of

previous management efforts, the nature of the area, the population and the best methods to ensure public participation;

2. Public consultation to check on the accuracy of information, suggestion for improvement, informing the public of the drafting of a zoning plan and solicitation of inputs;

3. Design of draft plan, taking into account public comments. This draft should be disseminated for further public comment. It will have the objectives envisaged for the various zones. The draft plan should be simple and cause as little disruption as possible on human activity that will not harm the overall objectives of the MPA. The objectives may vary from one that is highly restrictive such as “To provide for the preservation of the area in its natural state, undisturbed by human activity”, to one less restrictive such as “To provide opportunities for general use, consistent

with the conservation of the Marine Protected Area”. Public Consultation is necessary to review the draft plan. This might include community meetings, questionnaires sent out by mail and advertising in the mass media, including radio, outlining the contents of the draft plan and requesting comments.

4. Plan Finalisation after a review of the public response and comments on the draft plan. Changes should be considered to reflect new knowledge and the comments of the public. Final consultation should be held with the affected users to assess the impact of changes and to alert them before the final plan is formulated (Kelleher et al 1991).

The zoning plans, as far as is practicable, should seek to minimise disruptions to use, avoid sudden changes from areas of high protection to low protection if such a system was in place before. It should try to site around distinct, easily identifiable geographic areas such as reefs, islands, coves or estuaries (Kelleher et al 1991). This will help in societies where traditional line of sight methods of navigation are used widely, as in Jamaica. Every effort must be made to gain public acceptance and support for the objectives of the specified zones and support for the conservation and protection measures introduced for them.

Areas in Jamaica that could be considered for multiply use zones are the Pedro Bank and Morant Bank areas. This is due to the ecological importance of these areas as spawning areas and habitats for marine living resources and the economic importance as major areas of the fishery. The Pedro Bank is also important for the number of wrecks of historical interests lying in its waters.

6.4 Funding

It is not likely, nor is it necessarily desirable, that government is asked to provide all the funding for the management of an MPA. For the long term, every MPA should seek to be financially self-sustaining. This is the best guarantee for successes in an environment where public funds are always in short supply. The Government of Jamaica’s Policy for the Country’s system of Protected Areas allows for, in addition to allocations from the national budget, the use of trust funds, fundraising campaigns, user fees and concession licences to provide the financial support for MPAs.

Allocations from the national budget should help carry out the initial work necessary to designate an MPA and would be part of the NRCA’s budget allocation.

These funds would be available for only a limited time. It would then be incumbent on the other stakeholders to provide the funds through endowments and fundraising efforts, to continue the support of the MPA. User fees can be charged to persons for diving, sightseeing or making other recreational uses of the area; and where concessionaires such as diving operators use the areas, the licensing fee revenues can go towards supporting the MPA.

Hotel operators and industrial users of the coastal and marine environment should also be asked to help in the co-management and funding of the MPA. One advantage of getting stakeholders, including local businesses, to participate in the co- management and funding of MPAs, is the direct interest that this will engender in them for monitoring and enforcement. They will have a natural interest to see that their money is well-spent and therefore not only will they tend to comply with rules and regulations, but they will be pro-active by preventing or reporting breaches by others where they observe such breaches.

The management plan must stipulate the size of staff, infrastructure needed and the budget. Volunteers should be used where possible to reduce the burden on what will, in almost all cases, be limited financial and other resources. All attempts should be made to prevent dependence on one or a small group of persons for the major funds. This can greatly increase the influence these people will have on the management efforts. This influence in most cases will be positive, however, it may be abused in seeking special concessions to carry out activities that are in conflict with the aims of the MPA. Having a large amount of contributors will reduce this likelihood even though it may create administrative difficulties in collection and proper programme budgeting. Firm commitments should be sought from stakeholders early in the planning stage to reduce some of the uncertainties.